Editor's Review

A man called from the scene of an accident where a pedestrian had been knocked down by a vehicle.

On Wednesday, August 5, President William Ruto responded to an emergency call during the launch of the Social Health Authority (SHA) 922 Emergency Service.

As Ruto was being walked through the process under which the system works, a Kenyan named Lameck called from an accident scene in Suswa.

SHA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Mercy Mwangangi and a staff member guided the President on handling an emergency call as part of the dispatch team.

"Hello, this is 922 Emergency Centre. What's your emergency? Ruto posed.

The caller informed Ruto that the victim, a middle-aged man, had been knocked down by a vehicle and had lost consciousness.

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A file photo of President William Ruto responding to an emergency call during the launch of the SHA 922 Emergency Service.

"The victim has been knocked down by a vehicle when crossing the road. He looks unconscious and is heavily bleeding. His legs also seem broken," the caller stated.

Ruto obtained more information from the caller, including his name and relationship to the victim, before handing over the call back to the SHA Dispatch team. 

The SHA staff member confirmed the victim's condition with the caller and recorded it in the system. He also asked the caller for key landmarks to determine an accurate location before deploying an ambulance from the nearest location.

Earlier, an employee at SHA explained that all information retrieved from the caller is relayed to the medical staff in the ambulance deployed to the scene. The system also captures the nature of the emergency depending on the condition of the victim.

Once medics arrive on the scene, they obtain clinical information, give a fresh clinical evaluation of the patient and key it into the system. The system then identifies the nearest hospital that has the equipment to handle the emergency.

Mwangangi defines the new service as a game-changer and confirmed that SHA will cover the ambulance service.

"Before this service, Kenyans had to pay cash to ambulance operators to get the service. This has been a complaint among the citizens, and this is a very big milestone for the country," she stated.

The reimbursement for the ambulance service will be determined by the distance covered and services provided by the ambulance providers. So far, 137 patients have used the 922 Emergency Service.

Earlier, SHA said the service is designed to provide rapid emergency evacuation at critical moments when immediate medical intervention is needed.

The Authority noted that the ambulance evacuation service will transport patients from the point of an incident to the nearest Emergency Care Centre.